Newcastle Uni students surveyed to improve health

Researchers are surveying students at the University of Newcastle in a bid to enhance their health and wellbeing.

Surveys have been sent to 30,000 students asking them about their eating habits, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol and drug use, and sleeping patterns.

It is the first time the study has been conducted, with students set to be surveyed annually.

Researcher Melinda Hutchison said the information gathered would be used to create initiatives designed to improve student health.

"It's an initiative of the University of Newcastle's health promotional working party," Ms Hutchison said.

"We are wanting to find out about the different behaviours of students, and using the information from the survey to develop new initiatives for the students, so we can target the main problems they're facing and create programs that will meet their needs."

Ms Hutchison said a student's workload and stress levels could impact enormously on their health and wellbeing.

The survey results are expected to be available mid-year.

"I guess some of the main things students struggle with are being able to afford to eat well and also the cooking skills required to eat well," Ms Hutchison said.

"Students' lifestyles in terms of how much they are working and studying, the stress related with studying can definitely impact on their eating habits, how much they're exercising and whether or not they are using drugs or alcohol."